Madhya Pradesh 2023: BJP scores spectacular poll victory, cheetah safari launched to boost tourism

In KNP, cheetah safari was started, more than a year after the launch of the ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme, which allows tourists and wildlife enthusiasts to catch a glimpse of the fastest animal in action

In 2023, Madhya Pradesh had a fierce political struggle that resulted in the BJP defeating the Congress in the assembly elections; concurrently, a cheetah safari was introduced in Kuno National Park (KNP) to increase tourism.

But the overwhelming success of the saffron party also witnessed the end of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan era in state politics and the unexpected ascent of Mohan Yadav to the position of chief minister.

The poor electoral performance prompted the Congress leadership to replace its state unit president Kamal Nath with young turk Jitu Patwari even though the latter lost the contest from his traditional Rau seat.

The calendar year of 2023 also saw the launch of the Ladli Behna Yojana under, which a fixed monetary aid is deposited in the bank accounts of women in the state every month. The scheme launched by then CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan is believed to have contributed to the BJP's victory among other factors.

A 12-year-old girl was raped and brutalised in September, which shocked the world. Following the discovery of the victim in Ujjain city with injuries, police detained the driver of an autorickshaw. Later on, she had a significant operation in a hospital in Indore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Pakaria village in Shahdol district in July and spoke with tribal chiefs and other people in the run-up to the assembly elections in November.

In the Sagar district, the PM dedicated a temple-cum-memorial worth Rs 100 crore to the mystic poet and social reformer Sant Ravidas in August by laying the foundation stone.

The latter half of 2023 witnessed hectic political activities with PM Modi hitting the hustings and offering "Modi's guarantees" to people.

Based on Modi's development plank and increased female voter turnout, the saffron party not only improved its tally to 163, destroying the Congress to just 66 seats in the 230-member House but also successfully defended its five-term majority, except 15 months from December 2018 to March 2020.

BJP's "MP ke Man me Modi aur Modi ke Man me MP" seems to have struck a chord amid the perception of voter fatigue and anti-incumbency. Amid conjecture on Chouhan's political prospects in light of a resounding electoral triumph, the BJP leadership pulled off an unexpected move by appointing Ujjain's three-time MLA, Mohan Yadav, as the next CM. Amid conjecture on Chouhan's political prospects in light of a resounding electoral triumph, the BJP leadership pulled off an unexpected move by appointing Ujjain's three-time MLA, Mohan Yadav, as the next CM.

With Yadav's ascent to the top position, the political reign of four-time chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who governed the state for nearly two decades, came to an end.

Following Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Yadav is the fourth OBC CM from BJP to hold the position since 2003.

It is also known that the new CM, who holds MBA, LLB, and PhD degrees, is a skilled sword fighter. In addition, he serves as president of the MP Wrestling Association and vice president of the Madhya Pradesh Olympic Association.

BJP picked Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda as deputies of Yadav. Former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was unanimously elected as the speaker of the assembly after he won recent elections from the Dimani seat.

In the Congress camp, the appointment of Patwari as state unit chief and Umang Singhar as opposition leader signalled a generational change in the party in Madhya Pradesh, mainly dominated by satraps like Nath, Digvijaya Singh, and former union minister Suresh Pachori among others.

Meanwhile, a cheetah safari was started in Kuno National Park (KNP), more than a year after the launch of the ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme, which allows tourists and wildlife enthusiasts to catch a glimpse of the fastest animal in action.

More than a year after the grand cheetah restoration effort began in KNP, cheetah safari was introduced, giving visitors and wildlife enthusiasts a chance to see the fastest animal in the wild.

With the release of Pavan, another African cheetah, from a cage, KNP now has four large cats living in the wild.

Translocated from Namibia in September of last year, Pavan was released in the Nayagaon section of the KNP, which is part of the Peepalbaodi tourism zone.

On September 17, 2022, eight cats — five females and three males — were translocated from Namibia as part of the Cheetah Reintroduction Project and housed in cages in the KNP.